The 14 most memorable video games of the decade (2000-2009)
A lot can happen in a decade. It can be a terrible decade. Or, depending entirely on your outlook and the scope of your examination, a pretty good decade.
In the year 2000, I was a High School Senior. 10 years later, I’ve worked four years at a job I didn’t really like. Started and finished College. Worked four years at another job I didn’t really like. Started, finished 60% and decided that graduate school wasn’t for me. Met, courted and married a lovely girl. Welcomed two nieces into my family, then two nephews and a niece, then a nephew, then a niece. Moved about six times before finally buying a condo. Worked 1.5 years at a job I like.
But there are those consistencies. While I may not play many games these days, I still manage to buy every console, every console cycle. (In fact, with the exception of the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn, I have owned every major console since what Wikipedia calls the 4th generation of video game consoles. Quite the accomplishment, I know.)
Still, no decade is complete without a best of list. And this last decade, in particular, was extremely significant for the history of games. So, in order by date, here are the games of the aughts that had the most impact on me.
Perfect Dark (N64), 2000
Hopelessly outdated today (even in 2001), Perfect Dark still holds a special place in my heart for it’s extensive, fun and blurry multiplayer mode.
Jet Grind Radio (DC), 2000
The first, and one of the best, uses of the cel-shaded graphic style. A strong example of the industry realizing that realism (direct representation) isn’t the only art style.
Halo (XBOX), 2001
The game that networked a thousand dorm rooms. Enough has already been said about Halo. But it is the reason you’re playing games online and that the Xbox 360 exists.
Animal Crossing (GCN), 2002
A game, from the creator of Mario, that is entirely about collecting furniture and paying your mortgage. It could be a statement about our consumer culture, but it’s probably not. It is the first major example of a “casual” game.
Beyond Good & Evil (XBOX), 2003
A title that quotes Nietzche, a game that rips off a well-established Nintendo franchise, and another step forward for art design and integrated story.
Katamari Damacy (PS2), 2004
The next step (roll) forward in the casual games market. It used a quirky Japanese sensibility, a realistic physics engine and a $20 price point to win my heart.
Handheld gaming, 2005
In 2005, the Playstation 2 showed off its dominance by offering little that was new or different. Fortunately, the handhelds were happy to put out some unique content (and the DS was beginning to disrupt the market—particularly in Japan).
Lumines (PSP)
Good puzzle games hit your brain on a level where you learn how to react without thinking, and even see the puzzles when you close your eyes. Lumines is easily the best puzzle game of the decade [and, at one point, the sole reason to own a PSP (now there’s no reason to own a PSP)].
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
An oddly non-Zelda, Zelda game. The Capcom-developed title for the Game Boy Advance followed the standard formula, by added a huge level of quirk and humor (something lacking in far too many games).
New Super Mario Bros. (DS), 2006
A tour-de-force return-to-form Mario adventure. While there are a few excesses, Nintendo was able to credibly take a 15-year-old gameplay concept and make it feel fresh and new.
Refined game design, 2007
The biggest advancements in video game storytelling happened the same year you started to collect all that plastic crap in your closet.
Bioshock (X360)
While the gameplay is repetitive, the art design and creative direction is beyond anything in the history of video games. Even though you can see some of the seams, Bioshock has an astoundingly cohesive and replete back-story and mythology.
Portal (PC)
The ultimate example of integrated story. There is nothing within Portal’s gameplay that exists outside of the story, and vice-versa—and it’s all packed into a fun and concise four hours.
Rock Band (X360)
Plastic instruments had already been around for a few years, but 2007 is when they really took off. Rock Band, with it’s pairing of downloadable songs and polish, is still the best of the bunch. (Even if the gameplay and the plastic crap have gotten a little stale.)
(None), 2008
There were some good games released in 2008—LittleBigPlanet, Rock Band 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Professor Layton and more. Just nothing I’ll remember.
Downloadable games, 2009
Flight Control (iPhone)
Perhaps a better example of the change in the supply channel and the disruptions that will happen in the next five years. Flight Control costs less than $1, yet it is beautiful, addicting and fun.
Shadow Complex (X360)
Developed by a team of 10—6 Artists, 3 Programmers, and 1 studio director—with the Unreal Engine 3 middleware, Shadow Complex is a shiny example of how a good game doesn’t need a $25 million budget. Even if it’s just a polished homage to the Metroidvania structure in a shiny dudebro package.
Other candidates I’ve yet to play:
Half-life 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico
In the year 2000, I was a High School Senior. 10 years later, I’ve worked four years at a job I didn’t really like. Started and finished College. Worked four years at another job I didn’t really like. Started, finished 60% and decided that graduate school wasn’t for me. Met, courted and married a lovely girl. Welcomed two nieces into my family, then two nephews and a niece, then a nephew, then a niece. Moved about six times before finally buying a condo. Worked 1.5 years at a job I like.
But there are those consistencies. While I may not play many games these days, I still manage to buy every console, every console cycle. (In fact, with the exception of the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn, I have owned every major console since what Wikipedia calls the 4th generation of video game consoles. Quite the accomplishment, I know.)
Still, no decade is complete without a best of list. And this last decade, in particular, was extremely significant for the history of games. So, in order by date, here are the games of the aughts that had the most impact on me.
Perfect Dark (N64), 2000
Hopelessly outdated today (even in 2001), Perfect Dark still holds a special place in my heart for it’s extensive, fun and blurry multiplayer mode.
Jet Grind Radio (DC), 2000
The first, and one of the best, uses of the cel-shaded graphic style. A strong example of the industry realizing that realism (direct representation) isn’t the only art style.
Halo (XBOX), 2001
The game that networked a thousand dorm rooms. Enough has already been said about Halo. But it is the reason you’re playing games online and that the Xbox 360 exists.
Animal Crossing (GCN), 2002
A game, from the creator of Mario, that is entirely about collecting furniture and paying your mortgage. It could be a statement about our consumer culture, but it’s probably not. It is the first major example of a “casual” game.
Beyond Good & Evil (XBOX), 2003
A title that quotes Nietzche, a game that rips off a well-established Nintendo franchise, and another step forward for art design and integrated story.
Katamari Damacy (PS2), 2004
The next step (roll) forward in the casual games market. It used a quirky Japanese sensibility, a realistic physics engine and a $20 price point to win my heart.
Handheld gaming, 2005
In 2005, the Playstation 2 showed off its dominance by offering little that was new or different. Fortunately, the handhelds were happy to put out some unique content (and the DS was beginning to disrupt the market—particularly in Japan).
Lumines (PSP)
Good puzzle games hit your brain on a level where you learn how to react without thinking, and even see the puzzles when you close your eyes. Lumines is easily the best puzzle game of the decade [and, at one point, the sole reason to own a PSP (now there’s no reason to own a PSP)].
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
An oddly non-Zelda, Zelda game. The Capcom-developed title for the Game Boy Advance followed the standard formula, by added a huge level of quirk and humor (something lacking in far too many games).
New Super Mario Bros. (DS), 2006
A tour-de-force return-to-form Mario adventure. While there are a few excesses, Nintendo was able to credibly take a 15-year-old gameplay concept and make it feel fresh and new.
Refined game design, 2007
The biggest advancements in video game storytelling happened the same year you started to collect all that plastic crap in your closet.
Bioshock (X360)
While the gameplay is repetitive, the art design and creative direction is beyond anything in the history of video games. Even though you can see some of the seams, Bioshock has an astoundingly cohesive and replete back-story and mythology.
Portal (PC)
The ultimate example of integrated story. There is nothing within Portal’s gameplay that exists outside of the story, and vice-versa—and it’s all packed into a fun and concise four hours.
Rock Band (X360)
Plastic instruments had already been around for a few years, but 2007 is when they really took off. Rock Band, with it’s pairing of downloadable songs and polish, is still the best of the bunch. (Even if the gameplay and the plastic crap have gotten a little stale.)
(None), 2008
There were some good games released in 2008—LittleBigPlanet, Rock Band 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Professor Layton and more. Just nothing I’ll remember.
Downloadable games, 2009
Flight Control (iPhone)
Perhaps a better example of the change in the supply channel and the disruptions that will happen in the next five years. Flight Control costs less than $1, yet it is beautiful, addicting and fun.
Shadow Complex (X360)
Developed by a team of 10—6 Artists, 3 Programmers, and 1 studio director—with the Unreal Engine 3 middleware, Shadow Complex is a shiny example of how a good game doesn’t need a $25 million budget. Even if it’s just a polished homage to the Metroidvania structure in a shiny dudebro package.
Other candidates I’ve yet to play:
Half-life 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico
Labels: Mark
posted by M S Martinez at 1/19/2010 12:14:00 PM
2 Comments:
Yet to play HL2? Oh my.
It's literally next on my list. I finally bought the Orange Box for my 360. I've just been side-tracked replaying Portal.
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